Milwaukee Underhood Light Review

The Milwaukee M12 underhood light offers a versatile way for automatics to shed light in the engine compartment or underneath the car. While the light is a little pricey, it has a lot to offer for the mechanic.

4.5

OVERALL SCORE

When it comes to power tool manufacturers and lighting, no one competes with Milwaukee. Milwaukee Tool has a large line of different cordless lighting solutions that are powered by their M12 or M18 battery platform. Now considering Milwaukee has the largest 12V lineup and they love getting creative for the trades, it’s no wonder they came out with another cool product. So let’s jump into the Milwaukee Underhood Light review.

Milwaukee Underhood Light Review – Overview

Say what you want, but cars are not built like they used to be. Whether that is for the better or worse, it’s just a plain simple fact. Cars have more electronics, crammed into tighter spots and are harder to work on today than their older siblings.

While shop lighting has improved also over the years, as a mechanic you can never have enough light. There are always those places and spots where you’re unable to see due to lighting. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was another option on the market?

Milwaukee designed an Underhood light based off their M12 battery line up that is versatile and can help mechanics shed some light on their work.

Milwaukee Underhood Light Review – Features

There are two main topics we want to cover, the light and the versatility of the light. So let’s start with the light.

The Underhood light has 36 LED lights that produce 1,350 lumens on high and 600 lumens on low. Milwaukee uses their Trueview lights which give a more clear, white light. So your colors are easy to tell apart such as an orange wire from a red wire.

Changing modes is easy, just hit a button and you can go from high (4 hours of run time) to low (8 hours of run time).

The LED lights are encased and protected by an aluminum frame and an impact and chemical resistant lens cover.

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Mounting the light is extremely easy and you have a variety of ways to set up the light. There is a long bar included in the kit which will attach underneath your hood to help light up the engine compartment. Once the bar is mounted, you can slide the light left or right to adjust where the light shines. The bar extends from 47″-78″.

The ends of the bar not only protect your paint but offer a superior gripping power as the internal springs pull the bar tight on the hood.

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If you are working under the car or don’t want to use the bar, you can easily remove the light and either lay the light down or hand it up with the hideaway metal hook.

Milwaukee Underhood Light Review – Performance

The mounting options for this light are great. Each option is very easy to set up and use. If you are familiar with the Milwaukee Trueview, you understand how these LEDS are high quality and provide a true view of your work.

The light spread is nice. While it can always be brighter, it does a great job spreading the light around instead of concentrating on a single area.

The whole light seems to be a quality system. From the bar to the light itself, you can tell this is made for the professional and made to be used in harsh work environments.

Milwaukee Underhood Light Review – Value

While this is a great light and offers a wide variety of mounting features for the users, the price tag does seem to be a little high. After all, it’s just a light and the market is flooded with all different types of lights. However, I have to admit this is an awesome automotive light.

Now, I am not comparing this light to other lights on the market because the mounting bracket is very unique and can justify some of the cost, the aluminum housing and lens cover are high quality, so this does put this light on the higher end of the lighting spectrum.

For the bare kit, you are looking at about $200 and if you want the battery and charger, tack another $50 for a total of $250 for the whole kit. This is the price at The Home Depot and at the time of this article.

If you are in the automotive industry, this light is worth every penny as it very bright and easy to mount under the hood, plus the ability to use in other areas.

Milwaukee Underhood Light Review – Final Thoughts

Milwaukee did a great job designing and implementing a very cool light. While this is designed for the mechanic, other tradesmen will find this light useful. The light is well built and with a 5-year warranty, you can have the peace of mind that your investment is protected. The light does a great job spreading the light and helping anyone light up their work area. While the price tag is a little hefty for a light, the versatility and quality make up for the price tag. Very well designed and anyone looking for a great light should take a look at this light.

8 COMMENTS

I wanted this light when it first came out and told my daughter about it when she asked what I wanted for Christmas. Then I saw the price and told her not to worry about it that she didn’t need to spend that much on me. She ended up buying a light from Eastwood that is similar but is definitely not in the same league. If I was still able and working as an automotive tech I would have bought it for myself since I would be using it on an almost daily basis.